Not So Modern Management Theories

Management uses many modern theories and trendy techniques to motivate workers and attempt to prevent workers from performing unsafe acts. Some obviously work better than others, depending on the circumstances. Some theories are more complicated than others. Some have longer or fancier names. Whatever works best for your company should be the program you are using. 

During the course of my career in safety management, I have seen companies try to improve their safety culture in a variety of ways. Some of these approaches included the Deming Philosophy, the Safety Observer Program, Total Quality Management, and Behavior-Based Safety. 

I have nothing against consultants. Sometimes using consultants may be the best tool at a company s disposal to really effect change. The point is that many of these systems seem complicated and expensive, but they all seem to stress one underlying core belief, which is really quite simple. So instead of getting complicated, let s look at what I believe holds many of these systems together. 

---